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1-Page Summary of Zeitoun

Overview

Abdulrahman Zeitoun is an owner of a painting business in New Orleans, Louisiana. He lives with his wife Kathy and their four children. On Friday, August 25th 2005, the family goes about its normal routine: the kids go to school, Kathy takes calls from clients while Abdulrahman visits his work sites throughout the city to make sure things are running smoothly.

The author tells us about the main character, Abdulrahman Zeitoun. He was born in Jableh, Syria and was a sailor for many years before settling down in New Orleans. When he was ready to marry, his friends introduced him to Kathy (a native of Baton Rouge) through the Muslim community. They had three girls together and are doing well financially and socially. Despite some prejudice after 9/11, they have been able to build their lives with hard work and dedication from both partners.

As the news of Hurricane Katrina’s strength grows, Kathy is worried about her husband Zeitoun. He refuses to leave New Orleans and insists that she go to Baton Rouge with their children. As they talk, he remembers his childhood in Syria and how it was idyllic and safe from natural disasters like hurricanes.

But Hurricane Katrina was a devastating storm that caused extensive damage. Zeitoun prepared his house for flooding, but he wasn’t ready for what he saw outside: the neighborhood was covered in nine feet of water from the sea. The levees surrounding New Orleans must have broken because they weren’t designed to handle this much water. He traveled around the neighborhood with an old canoe and helped elderly people escape their homes since police officers and National Guard members were inefficient and unwilling to help them.

From Baton Rouge, Kathy hears that the National Guard and other military have been sent to New Orleans to maintain order. The rumors of violence and lawlessness make her frantic. She is able to contact Zeitoun at first on his cell phone, but then on a landline in one of their properties. She begs him to leave because she thinks he will be killed if he stays there. However, Zeitoun believes he has a mission from God given to him by Allah (God) which is tasked with helping people and pets left behind in the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Meanwhile, Kathy deals with growing tension with her family in Baton Rouge who disapprove of her hijab (a headscarf worn by some Muslim women) as well as her refusal to eat pork. Realizing that New Orleans will be uninhabitable for weeks due to Hurricane Katrina’s destruction, she decides moves the kids from Phoenix back home so they can help out during this difficult time while also dealing with the fact that their father may never return home alive since it’s rumored that many are being killed down there due to all the looting going on after Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana last week causing over $100 billion dollars worth of damage making it one of America’s worst natural disasters ever recorded.

In New Orleans, a man named Zeitoun encounters Todd Gambino and Nasser Dayoob. They are trying to rescue people from the city, which is becoming increasingly dangerous due to pollution. Eventually, they decide to leave when mandatory evacuation is declared. However, they find out that the rescue helicopter has crashed before it can get there. The men are stranded in New Orleans without food or supplies while also being threatened by gangs of armed looters who take over their house for shelter.

Zeitoun fails to call Kathy as he promised. She becomes very anxious and calls her brother-in-law, Ahmad, for help. They try to find Zeitoun but are unsuccessful. Eventually, she concludes that Zeitoun is dead and starts planning how to raise their children without him. Finally, an anonymous missionary informs her that her husband is being held at a prison in Louisiana.